Don’t Judge an Investor by His Track Suit

Mar 6, 2013 3:32 pm ET

SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN, WSJ reporter: Heading to this year’s South By Southwest festival to network with startup investors? Keep in mind that just about anyone you meet could be a venture capitalist or angel -– even someone donning a track suit.

That’s what Tan Tran, co-founder of GameSalad Inc., discovered at the annual festival in 2010. The 36-year-old entrepreneur says he had no idea that a man “dressed like an extreme sports guy” was angel investor Paige Craig of Los Angeles when he offered to do a demo of his startup’s game-development platform at a party there. “I expected a business casual or geeky look,” Mr. Tran says of Mr. Craig. “He had a very different vibe.”

But then Mr. Craig began asking detailed questions about GameSalad’s business model and Mr. Tran sensed that he was talking to an investor. After a few minutes, his suspicion was confirmed, as the conversation turned to how Mr. Craig might become GameSalad’s first financial backer.

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